Teen MOPS Steering Team

Coordinator:
Mary Ann Bontrager
MOPShop, Publicity:
Ashley Brandau
Finance:
Rachel Miller
MOPPETS Coordinator:
Amanda Knox
Hospitality:
Lori Trent
Creative Acitivities:
Sarah Moyer
Mentor:
Gina Mujica

MOPS stands for Mothers Of Pre-Schoolers. It is a program designed for mothers with children under school age.

Teen MOPS provides a faith based, supportive and non-judgmental environment where teen mothers can come together with others who are in a similar life situation.

The young women who come have different lifestyles and different back grounds, but all with similar needs and a shared desire to be the best mothers they can be. Through the relationships formed at Teen MOPS, young moms gain confidence, learn about mothering, gain life skills and can grow personally.All meetings encourage young mothers to share their joys, fears and frustrations while knowing that their kids are well taken care of in the MOPPETS program.

What does Teen MOPS have for me? You will...
Make connections and find support with other teen moms.
Have fun, eat good food and enjoy creative activities, while we care for your child.
Discover resources that will help you become a better mom.
Develop leadership skills and confidence. Experience personal and spiritual growth.

Bring a teen friend with you and come check us out! There is no cost, dinner is served free of charge and good quality caregiving is provided.

Join us as we explore the book, Life Interrupted by Tricia Goyer!

One day you're a typical student. You're working part-time at McDonald's to pay for your clothes and car. The next day, you're a mother-to-be. You're confused and scared. Emotional and standoffish. You feel like a kid, but now with a huge responsibility. How could your life change so fast? Your youth wasn't supposed to be packed with worries and obligations, Lamaze classes and daycare choices-and you've still got work and school to deal with.

Whatever happened to fun, friendships and dating? You'd do anything for your baby-but what about you? What about your needs? Sharing stories from her own experience as a teenage mom and from other young mothers, Tricia Goyer explains the nine basic needs that all young moms have and how they can be met. Needs such as the need to be appreciated, the need to know your life is not at a dead end, and the need to be loved.

Teen MOPS meets on the second and fourth Monday of each month, September through May.

The MOPShop is a store that is kept on site and can be accessed most meetings.

In our store, we try to have items that would be useful to you as a mother, a teen, a scrapbooker, a student, a woman. We will try to put only brand-new items in our store and keep it full. Note: This is a way to earn some diapers and supplies for your baby!

Each meeting, you will have the chance to earn tickets. Those tickets are what you use to purchase items from the MOPShop.

The idea behind our ticket incentive program is to build responsibility and maturity in our moms. Large items have large “price” tags on them. If you really want something, its always worth waiting, saving up and then buying it with the tickets you have in hand. If you always spend your tickets as soon as you get them, you will always go home with something new, but you will go home with something small.

The same concepts apply to life. Saving cash and using a savings account, not using credit cards and not getting into financial debt is a lesson to learn early rather than late.